How One Donated Desktop and Laptop Changed the Future for Recovering Addicts

DONATION: COMPUTERS FROM HP AND COSTUMES FROM DISNEY

LIVES IMPACTED: 70

When The Edna House started our jobs program, we discovered that one plus one equals infinity. Just one donated desktop and one donated laptop filled an empty office with a world of possibilities.

Finding a job is important for the women who participate in our addiction recovery program. It’s not just about employment. Through jobs, they have a setting to gain practical experience using the recovery tools they learn in our program. They also begin to touch the world outside the doors of Edna House, the place they will return when they are ready.

What kind of world will that be? Before we started the jobs program, our residents often looked for work along our nearby bus line. Many never had driver’s licenses or had lost them from addiction problems. They had no resumes, no confidence, no expectations beyond minimum wage.

The Edna House changed that. We hired a jobs program development coordinator, but we had no budget for equipment. We searched Good360’s catalog and found a free laptop and desktop.

Since then, 60 women have gone through our four-week program. They gain skills such as resume writing, interview practice, job-hunting and self-esteem. They even learn Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

One woman, for example, had looked for fast-food jobs before she did the training. Now she works for an attorney, earning double what she imagined. Her confidence is soaring.

Good360 also helped us established a relationship with our local Disney Store. One day we picked up Spiderman outfits and Elsa dresses from the movie Frozen. Our residents have surprised their children with them for birthdays or Easter. It’s an exciting change for them to be a part of their kid’s lives in a positive way instead of a negative one.